Five area young ladies had a chance to salvage a little of their senior softball seasons.
John Marshall’s Mack Hall and sisters Anna and Abby Blake along with Brooke’s Rachel Kazmirski and Haley Birmingham were selected to play in the North-South softball all-star games held Thursday in Buffalo.
Region 1 coach Levi Bender of Buckhannon-Upshur took 18 players to Buffalo. He opted to play one set of nine the entire first game, the other set for the final game.
All five OVAC girls took part in the semifinal round against Region 2 and their efforts led the North to a 2-0 win.
Every major play, every run scored, an OVAC player had her hand in it in some fashion.
For a reason that doesn’t always get the same level of attention as others statewide, it made it all the sweeter.
“All the JM girls, even before high school, we played travel ball against one another, we’ve always been opponents,” Kazmirski said. “So, to be able to share this moment with them, to play with that talent, it was awesome.
“And to represent the OVAC it was amazing.”
Brooke’s Rachel Kazmirski gave up a leadoff single, but finished with 10 strikeouts in a 5-inning shutout. 
Abby Blake readies to fire to first for an out. 
John Marshall’s Mack Hall secures the ball, and an out, in her glove at first.
An Unrepresentative Start
Kazmirski led the charge. The Marietta College signee struck out 10 batters and held Region 2 scoreless through the game’s five innings.
She aided her own cause at the plate in the third with an RBI single. But she did have a few moments where help was required.
The first came quickly but her new teammates were there to back her up.
Kazmirski gave up a first pitch single in the first inning. Not the start she was looking for. One pitch later, East Fairmont catcher Tori Lambert fired a perfect strike to Abby Blake covering second to erase the base runner.
Kazmirski caught the next two batters looking at strike three to end the inning.
The next half inning, it was Anna Blake’s turn to aid the cause.
Blake led off with a walk and reached second and third on passed balls. With two outs, Lambert was at it again. This time, she crushed a double over the left fielder’s head, easily scoring Blake.
Two innings later, Abby Blake took her second turn at the plate. This time, she didn’t get caught look, but launched a shot that bounced and hit the fence in deep right-center.
Kazmirski followed her and brought Blake home on a bloop single to shallow left. That gave Region 1 a 2-0 lead. Those two runs proved to be enough.
Anna Blake sets up under a fly ball to deep center 
Hall moves into position to field a grounder to first
Solid Pitching, Solid Defense
Kazmirski admitted she battled a few control problems early. She walked two batters in the third, but also struck out three.
Two more strikeouts came in the fourth to start and end the inning.
The second out came courtesy of Hall, who cleanly fielded a hard-hit grounder to first and stepped on the bag for out No. 2.
“I don’t think the game could’ve gone any better, because that was the most fun I’ve had in a game in a long while,” said Hall, who plans to focus on college making this game her finale. “I connected very easily with every single girl I played with.
“They were amazing teammates to have for a very last game.”
The fifth and final inning, the girls from the North were at it again.
Out No. 1 came after Abby Blake quickly scooped up a shot to short and gunned it to Hall at first.
Kazmirski’s final strikeout of the game accounted for the next out in what was her fifth ‘backwards K’ of the game.
Anna Blake recorded the final out, setting up under a well-hit shot to centerfield and putting it away to secure the victory.
Region 1 needed 15 outs to finish the game and all involved an OVAC player in some fashion. Only two, Lambert’s perfect steal-negating throw in the first and a comebacker that Kazmirski threw to Lambert at home for the force required assistance.
Hall readies to swing at a first-inning pitch. 
Brooke’s Haley Birmingham gets into position during pre-game warmups.
Playing Was the Right Call
Hall admitted she never wavered once asked to join the team. It was a chance to put the uniform on one last time and she jumped at the chance.
“I accepted immediately once I saw coach wanted me to play for him,” Hall said. “I was very grateful for the opportunity and jumped on it.
“Even though most of us hadn’t met before, we connected immediately and didn’t stop talking that whole first practice.”
Brooke’s Haley Birmingham started at second base and finished 0-2 at the plate with a groundout to first and a strikeout. Aside from Kazmirski, the other four OVAC players all struck out at least once.
It wasn’t a representative performance from Birmingham, but she’s got four more years ahead as she’s playing for W.Va. Wesleyan next spring.
This wasn’t the storybook ending young ladies dream off every spring then they lace up the cleats for that first practice.
But it was an ending, an opportunity not afforded to most high school seniors this past spring. And for that, they were thankful.
